Manta is an average sized city in Ecuador. I visited the city on my tour to Ecuador. I had fun and felt my stress leaving my body as I continued exploring the city. The city is an average sized city, the place to visit was limited and so were activities but the places I visited and the activities I enjoyed are-

Playa Santa Marianita

Playa Santa Marianita is a beach with crystal clear water to enjoy the day in the water. When I visited the tides were low so, it was fun and relaxing to walk along the beach with water moving back and forth while touching and wetting my feet. It was really an amazing feeling. But, the locals told that during high tides, it is difficult to swim.

Watersports

There are really excellent water sports to enjoy. I did some like Scuba diving. There was this “Ocean freaks” Operation, they provided multiple water sports and the guides were IKO certified. My guide was really patient and kind as we went into the ocean. The temperature of the ocean was moderate and was comfortable to be down in it. The world down there is really mysterious and lovely.

Playa El Murcielago

It is a beach with not so many people, thus peaceful. It is also known as Bat beach. There are several hotels and shops around the beach. The beach is a good place if you want to clear your head and want to have a peaceful ‘me’ time.

Playa San Lorenzo

The beach is beautiful with natural beauty. I enjoyed visiting it and heard some stories of big turtles coming to shore to lay their eggs from locals. The place is very calm and serene. I never found the beach having a crowd, there were few people who came with families to enjoy their holidays and I had a few things from the vendors.

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Amalfi is a small Italian town located in the popular province of Salerno. Situated at the foothills of Monte Cerreto, the seaside town offers an amazing sight of coastal scenery. There are tall cliffs, grottos, and sparkling bays that can leave you spellbound. We had an extended holiday in Amalfi and still couldn’t get enough of it. It is certainly a place in Italy I would like to revisit next year. Here are a few places in Amalfi that can definitely impress you:

Duomo Di Sant’Andrea

Also known as the Amalfi Cathedral, the Duomo di Sant’Andrea is one of the oldest monuments in the town. The medieval cathedral was originally built in the 10th century. The cathedral was rebuilt and renovated several times but still, the place preserves all the essentials of its beautiful Rococo architecture. There are many antique relics to observe and also a beautiful crypt to explore. The entry fee was €3 and we spent several hours within the cathedral.

Museo Della Carta

Museo Della Carta or the Museum Of Paper is definitely worth a visit if you are staying in the city for a weekend. The description of the museum may not impress you but the place, in reality, is quite interesting. The museum has a medieval paper-making factory that displays all the antique equipment used for making paper out of discarded clothes. The brilliant technology of the olden times would definitely amaze you. There is also a small gift shop that sells beautiful collectibles.

Valle Delle Ferriere

Valle Delle Ferriere or the Valley of Mills is one of the most beautiful destinations in Amalfi. The place houses old paper mills that are preserved till today. There is a hiking trail surrounded by lush green foliage that takes you to some amazing waterfalls flanked with great riverside views. The place is a must-visit location if you enjoy natural wonders.

Munich is the capital of Bavaria, in Germany. It is known for its centuries old buildings and museums. It is also famous for its Oktoberfest Celebrations.

I visited the city in the month of December when it was cold, snowy and full of winter sport activities. Apart from this, I also visited many popular tourist destinations including the Alps.

The Nymphenburg Palace is a coach museum and held wonders for my eyes as I had never seen something quite like it. Munich Residenz too is a museum and an old royal building with a grand flaunting architecture that is one to remember.

The Englischer Garten is a beautiful place tucked into the sleeves of this city, providing greenery, calmness and a one of kind beer varieties.

Hofbrauhaus am Platzl is the legendary state owned beer hall and I enjoyed the taste of every single point I tasted.

Marienplatz held more architectural beauty with it which I found unique to this state. It’s the central square of Munich and is a sight to behold at night.

When it comes to museums, the city doesn’t fail to surprise, with the Deutsches museum of science and technology, the BMW museum for a space age steel venue with cars and bikes, and what not.

Munich is well connected to major cities of Germany by road, rail and flights. In fact, Germany is well known for its seamless connectivity from all its ends to the major cities and towns. Also, the Munich Airport also serves flights from many major cities of Europe.

It is recommended to spend at least a week exclusively for Munich to get the feel of the vibes.

So come visit Munich, and lose yourself in the architecture, history and beauty of a city that will provide you with immense knowledge if you seek it and also immense beer if you want to get tipsy and enjoy.

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France, the undoubtedly recognized country of love and romance, the most visited country and the country known for its museums, structures and the beautiful distinguishable are sound of French.

Places to visit

The introduction was enough to make us fall for yet another trip around the globe to this land of mystical culture, food and structures which covers almost twice the area of the UK for about the same population. Each place around this country has something special to it, but it would be worth a while to go and witness the famous Eiffel tower, Louvre museum-most visited museum in the world, the historical Versailles palace and definitely try the gastronomic delights.

The best time to visit?

Spring happens to be the best time to visit France as the temperature is almost perfect and the cities are usually less congested with most of the natives and inhabitants moving to the Riviera for an enjoyable time.

It would definitely be worth it to set your goals beforehand considering the numerous places to visit and the things you can possibly try out.

Stay in Paris

You can easily find a lot of accommodation facilities around this place with numerous hostels, campsites, guest houses and restaurants of all sorts of budgets, but it would wise to book them in advance to ensure good deals and rates.

The food here has a lot of options with local markets serving varieties of meats and the some much appreciated class Vino!

We definitely suggest hiring or renting a transportation option so that you can get around easily according to your desired timings wherein the public transportation is very affordable.

Also ensuring the perfect travel kit for a pleasant trip is recommended according to the place you are traveling which may include things like first aid kit, flashlight, water bottles, comfortable clothes, sunscreen and tents as there are plenty of places perfect for a camp day out.

Athens, the capital of Greece is at the heart of ancient Greece, a powerful civilization and empire. It is a contemporary city. I was in Athens in April, staying at Art Gallery Hotel, which is situated in the quiet neighborhood, a little distance away from the Acropolis. I am glad I didn’t reside at Attalos or The Cecil or The Economy which are one of the busiest streets in the city.

I had lunch at Scolarhion in Plaka that offered delicious food and at Kuzina that offered innovative Greek influenced cuisine. I had the rest of my meal at local taverns. The simply affordable taverna was Ambrosia, four blocks from my hotel, leading to the metro, Drakou. I also went to an amazing Italian place, owned by a charming Greek couple called Peaooe.

Museum of Greek Folk Art

Situated in Plaka, the museum is a nice collection of metal work and costumes, pottery and embroidery. It is great for the interests of those who are jewelers or dabble in fine arts. A highlight was the exhibit hall of famous folk art painter, Theopolis, who had earned their livelihood from Lesvos.

The museum is free on Wednesdays from 3 to 9 pm, so I went there in the evening. It offers to see live workshop in the afternoon, of the jewelers working. The collection is very impressive and is amazingly portrayed. It is the work of Greece’s most famous jeweler and also contains ancient pieces which are intricate.

Acropolis Museum

It is a lovely museum on the hill consisting of amazing sculptures. I recommend visiting it in the early morning, as of 9:30 am the tour buses crowd the place. The monuments are captivating and the view is breathtaking.

There are many other places to visit such as Gastronomy museum, the new opera house and meat market.

How to reach Athens?

Athens being the capital city of Greece is well connected via flights to major cities across the world. Alternatively, one can choose trains and domestic flights when traveling from Europe and from within Greece effectively. It is recommended not to reside for less than 4 days if you want to catch the essence of the city entirely.

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Krakow is more than just a city in Poland. The country deserves more time of a traveler to experience its diversity. It’s a must visit on any Poland itinerary. I stayed at the Radisson Blu, less than 5 minutes walk to the Main Square and Wawel Castle. It had amazing staff, food and rooms. Da Pietro was a lovely place to eat, pizza was fabulous and the desserts were amazing. Even the Bulldog bar was a lovely place for the food which offered us 2 burgers, chips and 4 beers for 84 lpn.

Rynek Glowny

It seems like a natural starting point, situated in the center, huge and the largest medieval square in Europe. The one side of the building inculcates St. Mary’s Basilica and on the other side resides Sukiennice which is worth visiting for its museum. It also has some shops to browse through at the ground level and is home to the Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art.

The Kopiec Krakusa

It is a mysterious mound surrounded by legend that the founder of Krakow, King Krak was buried here. It’s free to climb and a getaway from the main part of the city.

Stary Kleparz Covered Market

On the north of Rynek Glowny, this market has been there for 600 years, making it the oldest continuous market. It’s for locals to purchase produce, food and other trinkets.

Schindler’s Factory Museum

In association with Oskar Schindler, the museum is focused on the history of Krakow during WWII and also depicts a short film of Schindler. It has varied timings according to seasons and allows free admission to permanent exhibitions on every Monday.

Wawel Castle

This amazing castle ranks up as the memorable one and I really loved walking around its grounds. You can enter the cathedral and even visit a few museums.

How to reach Krakow?

Krakow can be reached through local transport in Poland. If you are visiting from other countries, you are required to land in Warsaw and then take up the local transport all the way up to Krakow. It is recommended to spend at least a week here.

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California has several scenic places to visit, some of which are overcrowded with tourists through the year. If you wish to visit some of the lesser known places of this state, opt for a trip to Mountain House. This is a city on a smaller scale, located in San Joaquin County of California. The community also has several growing areas that make it a good place to relocate and settle in for many. The well planned streets and neighborhoods make it a viable choice for many. There are parks, trails for hiking, biking, schools and standard urban amenities.

As a visitor to this region, you will find the area to have a distinct history and tradition. The Yokuts were the original inhabitants of this area who came here from the Northern Valley. The area runs by the San Joaquin River. Most of the urban development is recent but it does have several scenic parks and woodland areas that are worth exploring.

Once you have checked in at a hotel of your choice in Mountain House visit the numerous parks in town such as Bethany Park, Altamont Park and the Central Park. These are ideal to check out community events and festivals that are held around the year as well as to plan picnics with your friends or family. There is also the Mountain House Creek Recreation Area that is an ideal place to visit for fun, recreational activities.

While Central Park offers ball fields, tennis courts and basketball courts, playgrounds, if you are lucky you could be in time to check out the kite festival which is annually held at the park. There is also Wicklund Park that adds to your choices for playing softball or using their picnic shelter that comes with BBQ pits.

The plethora of open playgrounds, scenic garden spaces and hiking or walking trails are several in this city. For instance, Central Community Park is another space that is popular with residents here. The interactive fountain is an attractive feature of the park as well as sports facilities, grills, picnic tables and playgrounds. Altamont Park has grassy inlays and palm trees lining the pathway with the usual amenities.

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Georgia has a distinct history and culture that is evident in its cities, large and small. Stop by Fairburn that has unique cultural and historic landmarks in this state. It is one of the upcoming business areas of the state that has several growing communities, but it holds onto its distinct past as well. The city is known for the vibrancy it offers as well as shopping areas, different recreational activities and entertainment options.

It was made a county seat in 1870 and located by a railroad line. Due to the several historic buildings to be found in this place the downtown area is listed in Register of Historic places in the country. Commercial buildings and train depots here in Fairburn date back to 19th and 20th century.

Once you have walked about the downtown area and checked out the different historic buildings, make a note of the annual festivals that are held here, and if you are lucky enough, you might be in time to catch the annual Fairburn festival or the Georgia Renaissance Festival. Both are known to be popular events here and give you a glimpse of the culture and activities as well as the level of participation of the local people here. If you come from the month of October you could check out the Fall Festival. This event offers several activities for children, street food, entertainment in the form of musical performances and so forth.

There are several recreational places about town such as the Duncan Park Pool. Take your children along as they will enjoy interactive plays here as well as spiral slides in the water, aerobics and so forth. Score Indoor Sports has indoor sports facilities to offer while Pure Horse Play can give you a fun riding experience.

Other tourist attractions around the city include Old Campbell Museums, golf clubs as well as the Strawn Brewing Company. You can enjoy leisure tours around these places as well as enjoy the open spaces such as Duncan Park, Ronald Bridges Park or the Creel Park. There are several numerous community park spaces here that promise opens air fun and frolic for your entire family.

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Guilin is an ideal place to plan a family vacation, especially if you like the outdoors. This place, located in southern China, is known for expansive lakes and rivers as well as a vast, green landscape. This is a well known city as well that has several activities surrounding it in the Guangxi province. If you wish to spend more time in the wilderness, then you can move the landscapes surrounding the city.

Here you can enjoy rafting on the Li River as well as hiking to Moon Hill, which offers surreal and beautiful scenery. There are activities as per everyone’s interest in this region. There are small towns in the Guilin and around the Guangxi province such as Fuli which is close to Yangshuo. This place is known to have a 500 year old history in this locality of making fans. Visitors at a fan making factory can even try creating a rice paper fan themselves. Children can also take up kung fu lessons that are part of the local culture here.

I would recommend the camping trips that are organized around the Karst Hills here. You can take part in a camping tour that would set you up with well pitched tents; sumptuous dinners made over camp fires and enjoy trekking and views of rivers and limestone hills.

Another unique experience that you can try here is made of oil tea. The locals and tribes around this mountainous region here make their own oil tea that is made of salt, ginger, garlic which is mixed and fried with tea leaves. Water is then added and the tea is then poured as a concoction to drink.

There are several villages in the Guangxi province that have tea plantations and organic farms. Here one can learn how to pick tea leaves and use bamboo buckets that are also taught by the locals. There are rock climbing opportunities in the mountains of Guilin, especially the Alila Yangshuo which is dedicated for rock climbing adventures.

Enjoy the Karst landscape and all that the outdoors offer around Guilin and have a great family vacation when you visit here.

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